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Door of No Return
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Product Description
Review
'... one of the most thought-provoking and complete debut novels published recently ... It's got just about everything between its covers, from hair-raising excitement and chatacters that are so memorable they'll stay with you forever, to breath-taking vistas of Africa as well as almost every emotion you can think of. You'll be gripped by it, moved by it and once you've read it you'll want everyone else to read it too because it's different and original.'
(Lovereading )'... powerful and extremely well-plotted modern adventure novel rooted in the terrible actuality and legacy of the African slave trade ... Sarah Mussi bravely engages with the most serious issues – friendship, trust, betrayal, greed, degradation, survival, the presence of the past. ... Sarah Mussi’s narrator, a 16-year-old hoodie, Zac, is wholly disarming and her writing is consistently robust, vivid and tensile.'
(Kevin Crossley, Judge of the Glen Dimplex New Writers Award )
... consistently engaging ... This is a really excellent and original thriller. ... its premise and Zac’s wry, streetwise voice make it fresh, funny and compelling.
(Amanda Craig, The Times )'... original, page-turning ... filled with action, adventure, emotions, a well crafted plot and a delicately handled theme regarding the roles of Britain and Ghana during the slaving era. ... a contemporary adventure story'
(Writeaway.org )' a rollicking good mystery story'
(TES )'... an intelligent and well-plotted blend of Treasure Island, King Solomon's Mines and Roots ... Suspense and important history in one fine novel.'
(Kirkus )'a complex, masterful story'
(School Library Journal )'exciting mystery'
(Klliatt )Product Description
Zac lives with his grandfather, Pops. When Pops is killed by muggers, Zac is devastated. Dumped with foster parents, then in an orphanage, Zac stumbles from trouble to trouble, but the one thing he hangs on to is Pops’ obsession with their family history and his ambition to go to Ghana in search of a ransom paid by a descendant 200 years earlier, to keep his son from slavery – a ransom stolen by British government agents at the time, which then disappeared. At least, Zac thinks, he can keep faith with Pops by continuing his quest. So Zac wangles his own way to Ghana.
Alone and far from home, he discovers that Pops’ death and everything since is part of a wider plan by some shadowy others, also connected to the lost ransom. In a web of intrigue, deception, betrayal, skulduggery and murder that reaches out of the past to entrap everyone in the present, Zac's quest culminates in a perilous voyage to the Door of No Return in the walls of the ancient slave fort - through which the slaves were once herded to the boats that would take them across the ocean, on a journey many of them would never survive.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I bought this after overhearing an assistant in Waterstones raving about it to another staffer (always a good sign). Was supposed to be a present for a friend's teenage son, but I got gripped myself after reading the first few pages: think I'll have to buy a second copy because he's not getting mine! Never has a three-hour train journey gone by so fast - this book rollocks along at such a cracking pace I could happily have stayed on the train all the way to Edinburgh just to get to the end.
There's a genuinely important (and true) story at the heart of this book - the slave trade from Africa to Europe, and the question of possible reparations - not to mention what governments might be capable of to avoid that question. But it's wrapped up in a corking adventure story that gets pacier and more thrilling as the book builds up to a grand - and moving - climax. Best of all, the hero, Zac, is hilariously witty (sometimes without realising it, love him - he's got a real talent for understatement), and we see the whole affair unfolding through his jaded-yet-naive eyes.
I don't generally feel moved to write reviews online, but this book really is something different. There's a sorry lack of black central characters in children's/teen fiction, so it's great to have Zac to add to that tiny list (especially in a story where there's absolutely no sense of tokenism). But this isn't just an 'issue' book, far from it. This knocks the likes of Anthony Horowitz's Alex Rider out of the park in terms of excitement and adventure - and gives you plenty of laughs while doing it. Give it to any 10+s you know at once - but make sure you have time to get at it first!
There's a genuinely important (and true) story at the heart of this book - the slave trade from Africa to Europe, and the question of possible reparations - not to mention what governments might be capable of to avoid that question. But it's wrapped up in a corking adventure story that gets pacier and more thrilling as the book builds up to a grand - and moving - climax. Best of all, the hero, Zac, is hilariously witty (sometimes without realising it, love him - he's got a real talent for understatement), and we see the whole affair unfolding through his jaded-yet-naive eyes.
I don't generally feel moved to write reviews online, but this book really is something different. There's a sorry lack of black central characters in children's/teen fiction, so it's great to have Zac to add to that tiny list (especially in a story where there's absolutely no sense of tokenism). But this isn't just an 'issue' book, far from it. This knocks the likes of Anthony Horowitz's Alex Rider out of the park in terms of excitement and adventure - and gives you plenty of laughs while doing it. Give it to any 10+s you know at once - but make sure you have time to get at it first!
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book has it all - adventure, nail-biting tension, humour, excitement... It really keeps you turning the pages!
The Door of No Return contains vivid settings and a wealth of memorable characters. The children in my class loved Zac!
The book also gives fascinating insights into the tragedy of the slave trade, a subject dealt with sensitively and which adds an extra emotional depth to an already cracking plot.
Can't wait for Sarah Mussi's next book!
The Door of No Return contains vivid settings and a wealth of memorable characters. The children in my class loved Zac!
The book also gives fascinating insights into the tragedy of the slave trade, a subject dealt with sensitively and which adds an extra emotional depth to an already cracking plot.
Can't wait for Sarah Mussi's next book!
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I was given this book by a friend who knows I try and read every new children's book that comes out for this age group. Since reading it I did a bulk order on Amazon and have given it as birthday presents to several children in the 11-14 age group. It has gone down very well and I had to buy another copy for my daughter who wouldn't wait until it was her birthday.
This is Sarah Mussi's first novel and as such beats the socks off several already established authors. There are a lot of poor children's books out there and it is not often that you can pick up a new novel and get a story that is well written, has pace, has depth and has a great plot. It is a rollicking adventure story but it has a serious point to make which is what gives the story depth. It is also funny and moving.
*****Highly Recommended*****
I look forward to the next novel.
This is Sarah Mussi's first novel and as such beats the socks off several already established authors. There are a lot of poor children's books out there and it is not often that you can pick up a new novel and get a story that is well written, has pace, has depth and has a great plot. It is a rollicking adventure story but it has a serious point to make which is what gives the story depth. It is also funny and moving.
*****Highly Recommended*****
I look forward to the next novel.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A gripping read
I really enjoyed this story. It had an outstanding voice that rarely wavered, it was tense and scary from very early on and also had stacks of humour. Read more
Published on 27 Aug 2008 by ML Jensen
A Definate 'Must-Read' for everyone - I loved it!
I was at first, sceptical about reading a 'childrens' book and then i read the first page of 'The Door of No Return'. After that i simply could not put the book down. Read more
Published on 19 Jun 2007 by Enyonam Dagadu
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